Contraction in S’pore prime office market could ease: JL LaSalle

 

 

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Contraction in S’pore prime office market could ease: JL LaSalle

via Lushhomemedia by luxuryasiahome on 6/29/09

Singapore's Prime Grade A office market has seen three straight quarters of rental contractions but Jones Lang LaSalle says that pullback is easing.

The property consultancy said rentals fell 11 per cent in the second quarter, compared to 28 per cent in the first quarter.

Jones Lang said landlords have been taking a defensive strategy of securing occupants for their office space at the expense of rentals.

This came on the back of the challenging business environment and large supply of office space due to come on stream over the next few years.

The central business district expects to add another 1.2 million square feet of new space by the end of 2009.

As such, Jones Lang said it does not expect the office market to recover in the short term. However, it points out that any further rent correction to come must be seen in perspective to the run-up experienced in 2007.

That year, rentals surged to about S$18.40 per square foot per month, surpassing the historical high by up to 80 per cent.

Since then, office rentals have declined by 48 per cent to about S$9.50 per square foot per month. This is still more than double the historical low of S$4.55 per square foot per month seen in 2004.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 29 Jun 2009

 

 

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Strong sales for new condo launches

 

 

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Strong sales for new condo launches

via Lushhomemedia by luxuryasiahome on 6/29/09

STRONG sales in the property market continued over the weekend as mass- and upper-mid- market launches drew crowds of buyers.

Within three days of its preview launch last Friday, the 68-unit Residences @ Killiney project sold 39 of 60 released units – with sales ongoing, a spokesman for developer Hoi Hup Realty said yesterday.

Preview prices at the Killiney Road condominium ranged from $1,700 per sq ft (psf) to $2,000 psf.

Opposite the condo at Devonshire Road, Allgreen Properties' One Devonshire has sold more than 95 per cent of its 36-storey, 152-unit freehold condo since its launch about two weeks ago.

In the Thomson Road area, Far East Organization sold 84 per cent – or 74 homes – of an initial batch of 88 units at a private preview of its Vista Residences over the weekend.

The 280-unit freehold project offers a range of accommodation from one bedroom to penthouse units starting from $960 psf.

Far East will release another 45 units tomorrow – its official launch date – said Mr Chia Boon Kuah, chief operating officer of the firm's property arm.

HSR Property Group executive director Eric Cheng noted that the buying activity – which started in mass-market new condo launches – seems to have moved into the higher market segments.

'This is undoubtedly due to the stock market rally, more positive sentiment, and is enabled by the interest absorption scheme,' he said.

The scheme allows buyers to pay a deposit and postpone monthly home loan payments until the project is completed.

'This is attracting the investors to come out in droves,' he added.

In the mass market, sales continued with Frasers Centrepoint announcing yesterday that its two projects, 8@Woodleigh and Woodsville 28, were sold out.

All 330 units at 8@Woodleigh in Potong Pasir were fully sold last Saturday at an average price of $790 psf. And all 110 units of Woodsville 28 were sold by last Tuesday at an average price of $775 psf.

At Pasir Ris, half of the 142 units at Chip Eng Seng group's Oasis@Elias previewed over the weekend were sold, said its marketing agent CB Richard Ellis.

On the east coast, the 94-unit Parc Seabreeze in Marine Parade is selling well with the project close to 70 per cent sold, said HSR, which is marketing the project. Units are fetching from $1,050 psf to $1,550 psf.

Mr Colin Tan, Chesterton Suntec International's head of research and consultancy, noted that there had been 'pent-up demand' resulting in strong sales activity, but added that this was 'not sustainable'.

'Unlike the boom years, where foreigners made up a huge number of buyers, it is mostly locals who are on this buying spree,' he said.

Property expert Nicholas Mak expects a moderation of buying activity in the coming months, especially as developers continue to revise their prices upwards.

Source : Straits Times – 30 Jun 2009

 

 

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经济危机只过了一半

 

 

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经济危机只过了一半

via 陶冬 on 6/29/09

 

 

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下半年房價還得漲

 

 

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下半年房價還得漲

via 陶冬 on 6/30/09

 

 

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聯儲決定按兵不動

 

 

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聯儲決定按兵不動

via 陶冬 on 6/29/09

 

 

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Resorts World at Sentosa cuts expected visitor arrivals

 

 

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Resorts World at Sentosa cuts expected visitor arrivals

via Lushhomemedia by luxuryasiahome on 6/25/09

Resorts World at Sentosa has cut its visitor arrivals forecast to 13 million visitors during its first year of operations, down from an earlier estimate of 15 million, due to the global financial meltdown.

The operator is also projecting a lowered 13 per cent internal rate of return for the integrated resort.

The resort is still very much a work in progress, but Resorts World at Sentosa said it expects two-thirds of its attractions and hotels to be completed by the first quarter of 2010.

These include the casino, which will be located at basement one, near the luxury Maxims Hotel.

Fittings will start in August for rides and shows at Universal Studios Singapore, including the 3,500-seater Waterworld and the world's tallest duelling roller coasters.

Despite cutting back on expected visitors for the first year, Resorts World is confident of attracting the crowd as the economy improves.

Michael Chin, executive vice-president of projects at the Resorts World at Sentosa, said: "We take a bit of precaution at reviewing our numbers. But as the economy picks up, things turn up, I'm sure the numbers will look better for us."

"Our focus is on the Asia market, within the seven-hour flight radius. We're looking at markets like China and India."

To complement the neighbouring shopping centre, Vivocity, Resorts World is in talks for niche tenants for its 500-metre stretch of retail, food and beverage outlets – also expected to be ready in early 2010.

So far, it has secured Malaysia's luxury goods retailer Valiram, which owns the Jimmy Choo brand.

Construction for the second and final phase of Resorts World will start early next year, and is expected to be completed in two years. It will include two new hotels, a spa and a Marina Life Park.

Tenders have not been called, but Resorts World said it will keep construction costs within the overall S$6.6 billion budget.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 25 Jun 2009

 

 

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Are investors banking on a rental recovery?

 

 

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Are investors banking on a rental recovery?

via Lushhomemedia by luxuryasiahome on 6/24/09

Consider this: Rentals are sliding while residential property sales continue to scale new heights in the current troubled times. With almost half of recent buyers being potential investors with private addresses, could these people be punting on a rental recovery?

If so, they may be staring at a wait of several years for the uptick.

"I don't expect any rental recovery for the rest of this year," said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail.

ERA Asia Pacific associate director Eugene Lim concurred. "Tenant demand has nothing to do with property prices, so even though sales have gone up, the rental market is still challenging," he said.

Some analysts are even projecting that a rental recovery will not kick in until three years later.

According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority, rentals slid 8.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year – down from 5.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year – as the double whammy of a weak economy and new supply hit the market.

Mr Mohamed expects second-quarter rental rates to be even more dismal than those of the first quarter. After all, rentals went up 40 per cent in the two-and-a-half years since 2006 as the property market boomed, he noted.

Still, residential property buyers continue to pile in, shrugging off predictions that rentals would continue sliding for the rest of the year. Perhaps they are not even interested in rental yields.

Said Cushman and Wakefield Singapore's residential head Connie Looi: "Buyers are rushing in to buy because there has been a downward adjustment in prices. It's not so much because of rental yields, which is about 3.5 per cent on average. It's more for capital appreciation down the road.

Mr Mohamed cautioned: "Even if you buy property from an investment angle now, it's very hard to predict what the market will be in three years".

Some market watchers, however, are bullish on the rental market. UBS Investment Research analysts said in a report dated June 18 that they expected rents to "stay flat for the rest of the year and potentially rise 2 to 15 per cent in 2010″. They calculated that prime rents had fallen 12 per cent in the year to date.

So who should invest now? "You need to have a greater appetite for risk and greater holding power to go in now – these are investors with mid- and long-term views, about five years and beyond," said Mr Mohamed.

Source : Today – 25 Jun 2009

 

 

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